:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(744x218:746x220)/martin-short-selena-gomez-76th-emmy-awards-091624-1-eac02e63972847c19b1b7094fe365ae7.jpg "Martin Short calms nervous Selena Gomez before taking the stage at the 2024 Emmys")
Martin Short always stands behind Selena Gomez.
The Only murders in the building Co-stars opened the 2024 Emmy Awards when they presented the first award of the night alongside Steve Martin. And as they took the stage, Short, 74, calmed a nervous Gomez, 32.
“I feel like I’m about to fall,” the actress whispered to her co-star, who put his arm around her waist and told her, “I got you, baby.”
Fans loved the sweet moment between the friends, one person commented EAR! One post from News reads, “The uncles she didn’t know she needed ❤️,” and another, “They have definitely become Selena’s (real) grandfathers and I am totally here for it 😍.”
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Gomez, Short and Martin, 79, delighted the audience with a hilarious introduction before presenting the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series to Ebon Moss-Bachrach for The bear.
Short joked that it was an “honor to work with someone who looks like he fell down and can’t get up,” and Martin countered, “And let me tell you, what an honor it is for me to work with someone who looks like a former tennis champion.”
Gomez then joked that the two were on the verge of becoming “childless cat ladies,” a reference to JD Vance’s description of Vice President Kamala Harris – and a phrase her best friend Taylor Swift later used in her statement announcing her support for Harris for president.
Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty
It was a big night for Gomez, who received her first nomination as an actress for her Only murders role, and Short called her out on stage before both he and Martin agreed that they “obviously both voted for (her).”
John Leguizamo later also paid special tribute to the Rare Beauty mogul, naming her alongside the Latinx nominees, joking that she “carried Steve Martin and Martin Short for three whole seasons” of the Hulu show. The Magical The actor also praised Sofía Vergara, Liza Colón-Zayas, Nava Mau and Kali Reis, all of whom were nominated for major awards.
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Watch PEOPLE’s full coverage of the 76th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, broadcast live from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on ABC.
